What makes an excellent leader? Today my guest shares why he believes that leaders who develop their empathy and emotional intelligence are not just better leaders – they become excellent leaders. An excellent leader looks after their own wellbeing by looking after the wellbeing of the people they lead. Markus van Alphen is a leadership psychologist, author, teacher, trainer, organizational consultant, counselor and restorative practitioner. 

Today, Markus and I talk about what a leadership psychologist does, what is observational listening, and how it enables leaders to be more empathetic to create psychological safety, reduce burnout, and increase engagement. He shares what makes an excellent leader - and how they never need to motivate anyone! We chat about why leadership is not viewed as a standalone skill, the link between leadership excellence and corporate social responsibility, the impact of toxic leadership on your bottom line, and how to really change a culture by starting with yourself as a role model.

To access the episode transcript, please click on the episode title at www.TheEmpathyEdge.com 

Key Takeaways:

• Your shareholders are stakeholders, but they are only one of the stakeholders. Make sure you consider all of your stakeholders in your leadership practices. 
• People often struggle in conversations because they’re too often in their heads and trying to plan the conversation within themselves, not participate in the conversation. 
• As the leader, you do not always have to have (or give) the answer to every question. Encourage collaboration in your team by demonstrating that with them. This will help to empower them and help your team learn the skills to solve the next challenges going forward.

"People are always motivated. I don't even believe that you, as a leader, need to motivate your people. I believe it's about finding out what motivates them." —  Markus van Alphen

Episode References: 

• Markus' free course form The Excellent Leadership series: https://excellent-leader.com/start-the-free-course-straightaway/
• The Empathy Edge: Colin Hunter: Disruptive Leadership and Being More Wrong: https://red-slice.com/the-empathy-edge/colin-hunter-disruptive-leadership-and-being-more-wrong/ 

From Our Partner (keep through 1/31/25):

Download the 2024 Ninth Annual State of Workplace Empathy study from Businessolver: www.businessolver.com/edge 

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About Markus van Alphen, Director, Excellent Leader

Markus is a leadership psychologist, author, teacher, trainer, organizational consultant, counselor and restorative practitioner. He is an authority on empathy, emotional intelligence, and well-being. Markus has a master's degree in Psychology from the University of Amsterdam and a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Cape Town. As a thought leader, he introduces the term Observational Listening, a theme he has written several books about, including The Excellent Leader <